Monthly Archives: November 2013

After the lights of Adam Kadmon’s “eyes”, which are BaN, emerged, they were aligned with the governance of Malchut of Adam Kadmon, whereas when the radiation of the “forehead”, which is MaH, emerged, it was aligned with the governance of Yesod of Adam Kadmon, as we’d just explained.

Yesod and Malchut of Adam Kadmon then conjoined, and as a consequence, all judgments were mitigated, and governance functioned along the lines of Tikkun and “love”, rather than disjunction and rupture.

As Ramchal explains in his comments here, there is in fact no contradiction in the depictions offered in EitzChaim cited above. For, when it comes to the Lights under discussion here, “aside from (considering) the sources from which they emerged, we must also take into account the sources to which they’re (eventually) bound, and from which they derive their power and governing ability”.

So we need to know that while “these Lights (originally) emerged from the ‘eyes’, they were then bound to AdamKadmon’s Malchut and they (likewise) derived their governing ability from there.”

The whole point of the next, rather esoteric Petach — the 60th — is to clear up an apparent contradiction in R’ Chaim Vitale’s explanation of the role of the primordial kings (who experienced the Shevira process) and their eventual Tikkun. At one point he said that the kings derived from AdamKadmon’s “eyes” and that MaH derived from its “forehead” (EitzChaim,Sha’ar Drushei Nekudot Ch.1), and elsewhere he said that the kings derived from AdamKadmon’s Malchut and that MaH was a product of the male emissions of AdamKadmon’s “Yesod” (Eitz Chaim, Seder Atzilut Ch. 2; also see Petach 96 below).

At this point, though, those conjoined units didn’t have influence upon lower Partzufim. That only came about once the center-spoke of the balance-scale came into play as well, aside from the left and right spokes. It enabled them to combine and to influence the lower Partzufim.

Nonetheless, everything was governed by mutual agreement and cooperation as a consequence of the Tikkun, rather than by one Partzuf or Sephira alone shining as had been the case beforehand.

Because this new order epitomized order and agreement — as well as reciprocal relationships — rather than the autonomous and sovereign stance that held sway over the various parts before, the parts were now said to be bound to one another like a, “father”, i.e. Abbah, “mother” i.e., Imma, “son”, i.e., Zeir Anpin, and “daughter”, i.e., Nukveh, thus illustrating those sorts of familial, vertical and horizontal reciprocal relationships.

As such, the great innovation of the Tikkun process was the instigation of the Partzuf system [1], thanks to which there are fuller, more mature phenomenon than isolated Sephirot interplaying in the universe. In fact, one almost has the impression of the earlier layout as an example of the interaction of kids walking down a hall single file, full of themselves, and self-important, who then mature into full-fledged family members who cooperate and interact healthily and selflessly.

What first came about because of the aforementioned union was an immediate awakening of love between the lights (as well between all the other Sephirot that resulted from them). This refers to the onset of a strong attraction between “lovers”, or perhaps better said between “partners” that brings them together.

We’re not talking about human romantic love, attraction, or partnership of course. Perhaps the best analogy would be to the way one pole of a magnet is attracted to the opposite pole of another magnet: with a genuine and natural attraction and pull which is nonetheless non-emotional.

Thank to that “love”, Ramchal goes on to say, the partners were no longer in the state of “sadness” or of being unfulfilled they had been in, in the course of the Shevira, when the lights stood in perpendicular relationship to each other. Instead, they faced one another, and they became bound to one another and assumed a horizontal relationship [1].

Note:

[1] See Eitz Chaim, Sha’ar HaTikkun Ch. 3 where this is linked back to the primordial kings, the first seven of whom died as a consequence of the Shevira process, until the eight king (Hadar) arose — both he and his wife (see Genesis 36:39). Also see Iddrah Rabbah, Zohar 3, p. 135b.

What lies behind the Tikkun was the binding together of two emanations — that of AdamKadmon’s “forehead” and “eyes”, which are MaH and BaN [1]. That’s to say that Tikkun is brought about when male (MaH) and female (BaN) join together.

In his comments here Ramchal refers to the “balance-scale” spoken of in the Zohar [2], which alludes to the great harmonizing that’s necessary for and is a product of Tikkun. He’ll illustrate that below, in Petach 69.